FFN at the International Sauna Congress, Oslo 2026
Written By:
Minea Herwitz
Last week, Finlandia Foundation National was proud to co-sponsor the 19th International Sauna Congress in Oslo, Norway — alongside our partners at the North American Sauna Society — and we are still talking about it.
FFN’s shared sponsor booth with NASS was designed as a cozy community hub and hosted many great moments and conversations
More than 550 people from at least 20 countries gathered for three days — from Japan to Slovakia, Germany to Ireland, Finland to North America — all united by one ancient practice. For FFN, being in that room felt entirely natural. Sauna has always been at the heart of Finnish culture, and it is very much at the heart of what we do. We had a sponsor table alongside major industry names like Harvia, Huum, and EOS, and it felt exactly right to be in that company.
Opening event at Oslo City Hall
The Congress opened at Oslo City Hall — where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded — with a musical performance by Tuva Syvertsen, remarks from Norwegian Sauna Society president Lasse Eriksen and director Stig Arild Petersen, deputy mayor Julianne Ofstad, International Sauna Association president Risto Elomaa, and more. That evening, participants were bused to The Well, the largest wellness destination in the Nordics, about 20 minutes outside the city. It was a perfect first night.
A kickoff event was hosted at the Finnish Embassy in Oslo
The following two days were held at Rebel — a last-minute but inspired venue shift after the original space, SALT, had to temporarily close. The team pulled it off beautifully. Five distinct presentation spaces hosted programming across Sauna & Health, Global Sauna Culture, Architecture, Technology & Sustainability, and Sauna LIVE — where Badstuprat recorded a live podcast and Sauna Channel screened films.
A powerful closing session discussing the future of the sauna boom with Knut Lerhol, Robert Hammond, Becky Pelkonen, and Mikkel Aaland
There were book events at the Skraa Bar featuring authors including Lassi Liikkanen and Kaarina Kailo. And the sauna names in the room were, frankly, remarkable — among them Mikkel Aaland, author of the iconic Sweat (1978) and the newly released Naked Sweat, whose book launch was moderated by FFN Communications Director Minea Lindqvist Herwitz.
Communications Director Minea Lindqvist Herwitz moderates the book talk and launch of Mikkel Aaland’s book Naked Sweat
Oslo is not joking about being the floating sauna capital of the world. Dozens of floating saunas line the waterfront — several just across from the Opera House — as the city has made extraordinary strides in opening its fjord for swimming, walking, and bathing. The world’s first floating smoke sauna, built by Kimmo Raitio (Sauna Sherpa), made its debut at Pust. The Congress closed with Badstufest — speeches, music, a full sauna village, and a heartfelt thank-you to the team that made it all happen.
One of the many areas along the waterfront studded by floating saunas in Oslo
“Sauna is at its core magical,” said Minea Lindqvist Herwitz, Communications Director of Finlandia Foundation National and Vice President of the NASS Board. “It has a primal element to it — gathering around the fire and being transformed. It is a wellness practice with huge implications for the larger world. It can heal individuals, and through individuals, it can heal societies. We are committed to making sure it spreads properly and remains a healthy practice — for people and for the industry.”
Some of the faces supporting Sauna Aid, a global initiative and community project that brings the warmth, comfort, and healing properties of saunas to refugees and people affected by natural or man-made disasters
This event happens every four years. And judging by the energy in that room, not a single person wanted to wait that long for the next one.
For FFN, the congress was a reminder that Finnish sauna is not just a cultural artifact to be preserved — it is a living, growing practice with a global community behind it. National Sauna Week, now in its sixth year, was recognized by participants from around the world. That recognition matters. It tells us that the work is reaching further than our own backyard.
Finnish sauna folk showing up in full force
We are proud to have been there. We brought the conversation home — and we cannot wait to put it to work.
